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Moya (Municipality, Canary Islands, Spain)

Flag of Moya, as seen in the Council Room of the Town Hall - Image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 6 October 2011

Symbols of Moya

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Symbols of Moya

The flag of Moya, adopted on 25 May 1994 by the municipal Council, is in proportions 2:3, horizontally divided green-white with the municipal coat of arms in the middle.

The coat of arms of Moya, adopted on 31 May 1957, is:

Per fess, 1a. Gules a mount or ensigned by an old crown of the same an arm proper issuant from dexter all over a palm tree vert charged with four bleeding hearts gules, 1b. Vert two goats sable passant per pale a bordure or, 2. Or a mulberrry vert surrounded by three roses gules leaved vert botonny or. Inescutcheon the castle of Castile. The shield surmounted by the motto "DORAMAS" in letters sable and by the coronet of the Province of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The shield supported by a branch of dragon tree and a branch of laurel. Beneath the shield a scroll of the colours of the Spanish flag inscribed with the motto "DRAGOS Y LAUREL HACEN SA FAMA" [Dragon trees and laurel made its fame] in letters sable.

According to José Manuel Erbez (Banderas y escudos de Canarias, 2007; website), the coat of arms in use has the 2nd quarter or, without bordure.
The 1st quarter shows the arms granted by the Catholic Monarchs to the aboriginal leader Oramas, aka Doramas, who ruled in the Moya Mountains and whose name is topping the shield.
The 2nd field shows the arms of the Marquisate of Moya, which were granted in 1480 by King Henry IV of Castile to Andrés Cabrera and his wife, Beatriz de Bobadilla. In the 3rd field, the mulberry symbolizes the forests of the municipality while the three roses are alluding to the poet Tomás Morales and his famous work, Las Rosas de Hércules (The Roses of Hercules). The branches of dragon tree and laurel symbolize the old forests found on the municipal territory. Furthermore they allude to the name of the two oldest settlements.

Klaus-Michael Schneider & Ivan Sache, 6 October 2011